One important focus for science education researchers over many years has been the attempts to replace students' commonsense and non-scientific explanations of various phenomena by scientific explanations. The approach we adopted almost three decades ago was conceptual mediation, and this was shown to have a considerable level of success with…

Episodic foresight (EpF) or, the ability to imagine the future and use such imagination to guide our actions, is an important aspect of cognition that has not yet been explored in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This is despite its proposed links with theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF), two areas found to be impaired in…

Our aim in the present paper is to discuss a "cognitive view" of reading comprehension, with particular attention to research findings that have the potential to improve our understanding of difficulties in reading comprehension. We provide an overview of how specific sources of difficulties in inference making, executive functions, and…

The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF) screens for executive function deficits in 5- to 18-year-olds. Data of three autism subgroups, according to DSM-IV-TR criteria (N = 35 Autistic Disorder, N = 27 Asperger's Disorder and N = 65 PDD-NOS), were analyzed. The total group has elevated scores on almost all BRIEF scales.…

Background: Until now, working memory training has not reached sufficient evidence as effective treatment for ADHD core symptoms in children with ADHD; for young children with ADHD, no studies are available. To this end, a triple-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was designed to assess the efficacy of Cogmed Working Memory Training…

The Montessori method is an attractive alternative to traditional education for many parents in the United States of America and abroad (Lillard & Else-Quest, 2006). There are between 4,000 and 5,000 private Montessori programs in the United States, and thousands more internationally (American Montessori Society, 2016; Lillard &…

This study characterizes longitudinal change in adaptive behavior in 64 children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability evaluated on multiple occasions, and examines whether prior estimate of executive function (EF) problems predicts future adaptive behavior scores. Compared to standardized estimates…

Worked examples have proven to be effective for knowledge acquisition compared with problem solving, particularly when prior knowledge is low (e.g., Kalyuga, 2007). However, in addition to prior knowledge, executive functions and fluid intelligence might be potential moderators of the effectiveness of worked examples. The present study examines…

Yoga programs within schools have become more widespread but research regarding the potential effect on academic achievement remains limited. This study cluster-randomized 112 students within a single New York City public high school to participate in either school-based yoga or physical education (PE) for an entire academic year. The primary…

Executive functions (EFs; working memory [WM], inhibition, and shifting) are widely known to play a critical role in school achievement. Among these EFs, WM appears to be implicated in numeracy and literacy. The contribution of inhibition and shifting to school achievement is less clear. Given the existing divergences in the literature and the…

Morality is an evolved aspect of human nature, yet is heavily influenced by cultural environment. This developmental study adopted an integrative approach by combining measures of socioeconomic status (SES), executive function, affective sharing, empathic concern, theory of mind, and moral judgment in predicting sharing behavior in children (N =…

Objective: College students face a significant number of stressors, increasing risk for internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. The current study examines two promising avenues of intervention aimed to reduce stress and prevent psychopathology in this population: a coping skills group and a cognitive training program. Participants: 62…

Learning to behave in socially competent ways is an essential component of children's development. This study examined the relations between children's social, communicative, and cognitive skills and their behaviours during a cooperative task, as well as how these relationships change at different ages. Early school-age (5-8 years old) and middle…

There is limited information on outcomes for young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including achievement at college. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 families reporting a degree-seeking college experience for their young adult with ASD. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Four themes…

This study investigates the relationship between visual attention and reading time using a mobile electroencephalography device. The mobile electroencephalography device uses a single channel dry sensor, which easily measures participants' attention in the real-world reading environment. The results reveal that age significantly influences visual…